Box Score

MANKATO, Minn. -- The Northwestern College men's basketball team played one of its closest games to date this season on Friday night, escaping Bethany Lutheran College by a final score of 66-61.  After a 55-55 tie with 4:51 to play, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run to build enough of a buffer to earn their 11th consecutive victory.

NWC led by just two points at the halftime break after struggling from behind the three-point line, which is a distance that has been good to the Eagles this season.  Despite going 3-12 from long range in the first half, the Eagles overcame a constant two- and four-point lead by Bethany Lutheran to establish a thin margin as both teams went into the locker room. The first period alone featured four ties.

Northwestern increased its lead to six early in the second half on a jumper in the paint by Josh Williams (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake).  After the Vikings' Alex Weldon nailed a three-pointer to cut the lead to two, Lance Westberg (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) (River Falls, Minn./River Falls), Ellis Libby (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) and Tom Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) hit three straight treys to boost the Eagles' edge to 47-36 with 11:12 to go.  After Bethany eliminated the lead, the Purple and Gold's late rally proved to be enough for Northwestern's 12th UMAC victory this season.

NWC finished 23-55 from the field overall and 8-19 from behind the three-point line while Bethany's numbers were similar.  The Eagles owned a 40-34 edge in rebounding while committing just 10 turnovers, compared to the VIkings' 12.

Northwestern had three players in double figures with Wade Chitwood (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) (Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell) leading the pack with 15 points on 6-13 shooting.  Gisler followed with 12 points, while Brian Lecheler (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) chipped in 11, respectively.

Weldon led Bethany Lutheran with 18 points, making six of his nine attempts, all of which were from downtown.  Gavin Kroehler followed with 15 points on the night.

Now 18-6 overall (12-1 UMAC), NWC, who won the conference championship outright last weekend at home, will wrap up its UMAC regular season on Saturday afternoon at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.